Vials of plastic material



1964 H. w. WILLIAMS VIALS 0F PLASTIC MATERIAL Filed April 3, 1961 Fig.

INVENS'I'OR Harold WWilliams,

United States Patent 3,117,691 VIALS 0F PLASTIC MATERIAL Harold W. Williams, Lumelite Corp., Pawling, NX. Filed Apr. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 160,448 Claims. (Cl. 220-60) My invention is an improvement in vials consisting of suitable plastic material and having novel cap holding and sealing means around the outside of the bottle. This eliminates the necessity for the cap to seat against the top edge of the bottle so that the cap can be made companatively deep, whereby the top of the cap is spaced some distance away from the vial when closed.

In the use of vials for packaging small rolls of absorbent material containing a liquid chemical, such as are supplied with some types of photographic film tor processing the film after exposure, difficulty has been experienced in extracting the roll from the container after the cap is removed. With my improved vial the roll can project into the cap, and when the cap is removed a portion of the roll is exposed which can conveniently be grasped so that the roll can be pulled out of the vial.

My improved vial consists of only two pieces, and for convenience the main elongated tubular part will be called the container, and the shorter upper part, the cap. Each of these pieces may be easily moulded and the preferred material is described as rigid, which, in this case, means the vial feels rigid and will not bend or deform to any appreciable extent when subject to such pressures as the vials may encounter in normal handling, but which does not rule out a degree of springiness or flexibility necessary in snapping the cap on and off the container as will be explained below. The material which I have so far found most suitable is high density or linear polyethylene which is clearly distinguished in the trade from regular polyethylene, which is more properly described as a pliable plastic material.

In addition to economy of manufacture of the vial itself it is an objective of the invention to provide vials which will facilitate hoppering, guiding, and holding in automatic processes of filling and closing.

Another object is to provide connecting means between the cap and container so that the cap can be quickly removed or replaced on the container, as by a snap action, and when the cap is in place, a sumciently liquid tight seal is obtained to prevent leakage of the contents.

Other objects md advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown for purposes of illustration one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice. In this drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my improved vial.

FIG. 2 is a vertical central crosssection on a somewhat enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-section on a greatly enlarged scale showing the two parts separated.

All parts of the vial illustrated are round in transverse cross-section.

The vial consists generally of a container having an elongate tubular or cylindrical wall 4 which is open at the top and closed at the bottom by the wall 5, and a cap having a top wall 6 and a depending cylindrical wall 7 whose internal diameter is such that it will fit snugly around the top of the container. The top wall 5, of the cap, is spaced a suitable distance from the top of the container so as to leave a space or recess 8, into which the container contents such as a roll of saturated absorbent material 9 may project. The overall height of the cap, however, is preferably substantially less than the 3,ll7,59l Patented Jan. 14, 1964 cap diameter which makes :for ease of removal and replacement without disturbing the container contents.

The top portion of the container may be said to be double walled. *In other words, a rim 1% surrounds the top of the container and is spaced just far enough from the cylindrical wall 4 to snugly receive the lower part of the cap between the rim and wall 4, and the rim preferably extends slightly above the level of the container mouth as illustrated. This rim 10 is integrally connected to the wall 4 by a narrow annular section 11, thus providing a preferably abrupt shoulder or horizontal surface 12 which is an important advantage in supporting the vial for hoppering, for feeding in automatic machinery, for filling and during assembly by endwise pressure of the cap, it being noted that this supporting surface 12 is in vertical alignment with the cylindrical wall 7 of the cap, so as better to take the thrust required in assembly of the cap to the container.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the means of retaining the cap in place and for providing a liquid tight seal are independent of the top portion of the cap, being located radially outwardly of the main container wall 4. For this purpose the inner surface of the rim is undercut to form a downwardly facing and upwardly sloping internal shoulder 13, adapted to snap over the upper outer corner of the bead 14 on the exterior surface of the cap, which bead has a diameter slightly larger than the inside diameter of the rim entrance. Above the bead 14 on the cap, is a groove 15 for snugly receiving the inner edge portion of the rim which may be called an internal bead; and a circular flange 16 adapted to bear against the top edge of the rim 10. The flange 16 is somewhat greater in diameter than the rim '10 so that it not only acts as a stop to limit the downward movement of the cap during assembly, but the pant of the flange which projects beyond the cap serves as a convenient means to be engaged by the finger in removing the cap from the container.

A comparatively long sloping surface 17 on the exterior of the container wall 4% cooperates with the inner wall of the bottom edge of the cap in leading the cap wall into the recess or space 18, and for a similar purpose a sloping surf-ace 19 on the exterior of the bottom portion of the cap rides over the inner corner of the upper edge of the rim 10, to cause slight inward flexing of the lower portion of the cap and perhaps also slight outward flexing of the rim 10, to permit the bead 14, of the cup ,to move into the recess 18 and snap under the sloping shoulder 13. This not only securely retains the cap in position, but since the bead has a snug fit in the recess 18, and especially because the upper corner of the bead 14 bears against the conical surface 13 like a valve on a valve seat, there is provided a liquid tight seal without the use of gaskets, liners, or the like. When upward force is applied to the flange 17 of the cap, the reverse of the above action takes place, with the upper corner of the head 14 riding over the sloping shoulder 13, to permit disengagement of the head from the recess 18 in removing the cap. It will be appreciated FIGS. 2 and 3 are on an enlarged scale, and that in practice the undercut which results in the shoulder 13, will be only a few thousandths of an inch in depth, so that the parts may be engaged and disengaged by what may be called a snap fastener action.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vial of the class described comprising a container of elongate tubular form closed at the bottom and open at the top end, the top portion of the container being double Walled with an annular recess between the walls, a cap having a top wall spaced away from the top of the container and a cylindrical wall of substantially the same internal diameter as the outer diameter of the inner wall of the top portion or" the container, said cap and body consisting of rigid plastic material of the kind described, the bottom portion of the cap cylindrical wall fitting snugly in said annular recess, the outer wall of such top portion being undercut to provide a downwardly facing inclined shoulder, and a bead on the lower portion of said cap presenting an upwardly facing shoulder adapted to be engaged under said downwardly facing shoulder by a snap action when endwise pressure is applied to the cap in assembling the cap on the container.

2. A two piece vial comprising of an elongate cylindrical container and a cap both consisting of plastic material, a rim surrounding the upper portion of the container cylindrical wall and in spaced relation thereto with an annular upwardly opening recess therebetween, means joining said rim to the container wall and providing an exterior supporting surface under the rim and recess, said cap having a top wall spaced a substantial distance above the top of the container, a cylindrical depending wall adapted to embrace the top portion of the container cylindrical wall, a circular head around said cap depending wall near the bottom of the cap with a sloping surface leading from the bottom edge of the cap to the outer surface of said bead, the maximum internal diameter of said recess at its entrance end being slightly less than the maximum diameter of said bead, the inner surface of the rim wall being undercut leaving an upwardly sloping shoulder, whereby during assembly when the cap is forced endwise into said recess, the lower a rim while the bead is passing through the restricted entrance portion of the recess, after which said bead will snap into said undercut to retain the cap in position on the container.

3. A vial as defined in claim 2 wherein the cap has an outwardly extending flange which is located above said head the proper distance to act as a stop against the top surface of said rim and to position the top of said head on the cap so as to bear against the sloping shoulder formed by said undercut for the purpose described.

4. A vial as defined in claim 3 wherein said flange is of larger diameter than said rim so that it projects over the rim in the form of a ledge to assist in removing the cap from the container.

5. A vial as defined in claim 1 wherein the outer wall of the top portion of the container extends above the level of the inner wall.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,720,332 Holt Oct. 11, 1955 2,753,991 Sherman July 10, 1956 2,778,525 Lermer Ian. 22, 1957 2,823,249 Curtiss Feb. 11, 1958 2,828,789 Groendyk et a1 Apr. 1, 1958 2,863,454 Davidson et a1. Dec. 9, 1958 2,982,450 Whitton May 2, 1961 

1. A VIAL OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED COMPRISING A CONTAINER OF ELONGATE TUBULAR FORM CLOSED AT THE BOTTOM AND OPEN AT THE TOP END, THE TOP PORTION OF THE CONTAINER BEING DOUBLE WALLED WITH AN ANNULAR RECESS BETWEEN THE WALLS, A CAP HAVING A TOP WALL SPACED AWAY FROM THE TOP OF THE CONTAINER AND A CYLINDRICAL WALL OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME INTERNAL DIAMETER AS THE OUTER DIAMETER OF THE INNER WALL OF TOP PORTION OF THE CONTAINER, SAID CAP AND BODY CONSISTING OF RIGID PLASTIC MATERIAL OF THE KIND DESCRIBED THE BOTTOM PORTION OF THE CAP CYLINDRICAL WALL FITTING 